Rabble-arm and rabble for metallurgical furnaces.



U. WEDGE. RABBLE ARM AND RABBLE FOR METALLURGICAL FURNACES. APPLICATION FILED IAN- 1. 1915. RENEWED APR. 21. 1916.

Patented Dec. 5, 1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

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UTLEY WEDGE, OF ARDMORE, PENNSYLVANIA.

RABBLE-ARM AND RAIBBLE FOR METALLURGICAL FURNACES.

Application filed January 7, 1915, Serial No. 958.

To aZZ whom it may concern Be it known that I, U'rLnr \Vnoen, a citi zen of the United States, residing in Ardmore, Pennsylvania. have invented certain Improvements in Rabble-Arms and Rabbles for Metallurgical Furnaces, of which the following is a specification.

One object of my invention is to so construct a rabble arm for metallurgical furnaces as to provide for the renewal of the rabble-carrying portion of the same without renewing the portion whereby the rabble arm is secured to the central shaft of the furnace, and a further object, in that class of rabble arms which are partitioned so as to provide chambers for the circulation of a cooling fluid, is to provide a partition structure which can be readily removed and applied so as to be susceptible of use in any of the rabble arms. These objects I attain in the manner hereinafter set forth, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a transverse vertical section, partly in elevation, of sufiicient of a metallurgical furnace of the superposed hearth type to illustrate the application of my invention thereto; Fig. 2 is an enlarged vertical section, partly in elevation, of part of the rabble-arm-carrying shaft of the furnace showing, applied thereto, part of a rabble arm constructed in accordance with my invention; Fig. 3 is a view, partly in section, on the line aa, Fig. 2, and partly in elevation, looking in the direction of the arrow; Fig. 4c is a view, partly in section, on the line bb, Fig. 2, and partly in elevation, looking in the direction of the arrow; Fig. 5 is a side elevation of so much of the rabble arm as is illustrated in Fig. 2 but showing a certain modification in the construction of said arm, and Fig. 6 is a transverse section on the line 0,0, Fig. 2.

In Fig. 1 of the drawings, 1 represents the outer wall of the furnace, and 2 a series of hearthsdisposed one above another and providing a succession of chambers through which the material to be treated may be passed in succession from top to bottom of the furnace, this being a well-known type of furnace and being shown in a number of prior patents which I have obtained. Such furnaces are usually equipped with a central rotating shaft 3 and the latter is provided with arms projecting into the different treating chambers of the furnace and equipped Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 5, 1916.

Renewed April 27, 1916. Serial No. 94,056.

with rabbles whereby, when the shaft is rotated, the material under treatment will be fed over the hearths from the receiving to the delivery portion of the same. Heretofore these arms have usually consisted of one-piece castings and when that portion of the arm which projects into the treating chamber becomes defective in any part the entire arm, including both the rabble carrying portion and the portion whereby the arm is secured to the shaft must be discarded.

One object of my invention is to prevent this waste, and this object I attain by making the rabble carrying portion of the arm independent of and detachable from the portion whereby the arm is secured to the shaft, thus, as shown in Fig. 2, 4: represents the rabble carrying portion of the arm and 5 a stub end secured to the shaft and projecting outwardly therefrom, the rabble carrying portion 4: being slipped over this projecting "stub end, as shown in Fig. 2, or into the same, as shown in Fig. 5, and being secured thereto by any suitable means, as for instance by bolts 6. The stub end may be cast or otherwise formed but the rabble carrying 4-, said hubs being strung upon the tube side by side and the rabbles being retained in proper longitudinal position upon the arm by any suitable means, as for instance by the cap 7 bearing upon the outermost hub 9 and by contact of the innermost hub with the heads of the retaining bolts 6.

To prevent the swinging of the rabble hubs 9 independently of one another upon the arm 4 said hubs are keyed together, as by means of tongues 10 on one hub entering recesses 11 in the adjoining hub, as shown in Fig. l, the recesses 11 in the innermost hub receiving the heads of the bolts 6 which thereby prevent swinging of the entire se ries of rabbles upon the arm 4:.

The stub end 5 has a portion 5 which is adapted to a sleeve. 12 secured to the shaft 3, as by means of an annular flange 13 bolted to the shaft, this portion 5 having at its junction with the stub end 5 a tapering flange 14 which bears against a seat at the outer end of the sleeve 12, the portion 5" also having, near its opposite end, a notch 15 for engagement with alever 16 pivotally mounted between arms on the sleeve 12 and tightened by means of a nut 17 acting upon a crosshead 18 which bears upon the lever 16, the nut being mounted upon a swinging bolt 19 also pivotally mounted between the arms 20. V

The arm 4 is applied to the stub end 5 and the rabble hubs are-applied to the arm 4: while these parts are outside of the furnace, and the entire structure is then introduced into the working chamber of the furnace through a suitable opening in the outer wall thereof until the shoulder 14 reaches its seat upon the outer end of the sleeve 12, and the stub end is then firmly secured to said sleeve by means of the tightening devices described and which are accessible from the interior of the shaft 3.

. When water or other fluid is to be cir culated through the rabble arm for cooling purposes the stub end structure is provided with a central transverse partition 21 which may be cast in one piece therewith, and said stub end structure is provided on opposite sides of said partition with pipe sections 22 for conveying said cooling fluid to and from the arm. That portion of the partition structure which is contained in the ar-m 4,- and which is represented at 23 is discontinued short of the outer endof the arm so as to permit the cooling fluid to pass around the same, and said structure 23 is separate from the arm, as shown in Fig. 6, so that when the rabble carrying structures are re-' moved from the furnace a partition can be readily removed from a defective arm and inserted into a new one, the same partition structure being thereby available for use in connection with a number of successive arms.

Any desired means maybe employed for retaining the partition structure 23 in a proper registry with the partition structure 21 but in the present instance I have shown the inner end of said structure 23 as engaging jaws as onthe outer end of the structure 21 for this purpose. In order to permit access from the interior of the shaft 3 to the waterrcirculating chambers of the stub end structure it may be desirable to provide the inner end of the latter with a detachable cap or cover plate 25, as shown in Fig. 2.

Any desired means may be employed for feeding the cooling fluid to and discharging it from the pipes 22. In the present instance l have shown a distributing chamber 26 mounted upon the upper ends of the pipes 22 and receiving its supply of cooling fluid through a central water-"sealed pipe 27, and I have shown the lower ends of the pipes 22 as discharging into the hollow hub 35 of a driving, wheel 28. at the battery of the.

' into the furnacechamber.

a of the arm, and in this construction the partition structure may consist of a single piece extending from the outer end of the arm member to the inner end of the stub end structure, and removable in the same manner as the member 23 of the partition structure shown in Fig. 2, suitable lugs 30 at the inner end of the stub end structure engaging the partition member to holdit in its proper relation thereto and to the tube member 4 ofthe arm.

I claim:

1. The combination, in a metallurgical furnace, of a central shaft, a sleeve carried thereby, a stub end structure carried by said sleeve and projecting into the furnace chamher, and an arm detachably mounted upon that portion of the stub end structure which projects into the furnace chamber. I

2. The combination, in a metallurgical furnace, ofa central shaft, asleeve carried thereby, a stub end structure mounted in said sleeve and projecting therefromintothe' furnace chamber, said stub end structure being detachable from said sleeve, and an arm detachably mounted uponrthat portion-of the-stub endst-ructure whichprojects 3. The combination, in a metallurgical furnace, ofa central shaft, a sleeve carried thereby, a stub end structure projecting from said sleeve into the furnace chamber,

clamping means for detachably securing;

projecting portion of the stub end structure, a

a central longitudinal partition in said stub end structure, and a corresponding central longitudinal partition in the rabble arm, the latter partition being separate from the rabble arm and longitudinally removable 1 1 therefrom.

5. The combination, in a metallurgical furnace, of a central shaft, a hollow stub end structure carried thereby and projecting into the working chamber ofthe furnace, a hollow rabble arm mounted on said projecting portion of thestub end structure, a-central longitudinal partitioninsaid stub end structure, and a correspondin central longitudinal partition in the rabble arm,

the; latter-partitieu being; separate from. the

rabble arm and longitudinally removable therefrom, but in interlocking engagement with the central partition of the stub end structure.

6. The combination, in a metallurgical furnace, of a central shaft, a hollow stub end structure carried thereby and projecting into the furnace chamber, a hollow rabble arm mounted upon said projecting portion of the stub end structure, horizontal partitions extending longitudinally in the stub end structure and rabble arm so as to provide communicating upper and lower chambers therein, and a series of pipes one for each rabble arm, each of said pipes comprising an upper member communicating with the upper chamber of its respective stub arm and a lower member communicating with the lower chamber thereof.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

UTLEY WEDGE.

Witnesses KATE A. BEADLE, HAMILTON l). TURNER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each. by addressing the "commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. 0. 

